


Thirty days

by WeirdV



Series: Ensorcelled [2]
Category: Bewitched (2005), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Coma, F/M, Famous!Derek, Hospital, M/M, Magic Stiles, Panic Attack, Past Stiles Stilinski/Malia Tate, Spark!Stiles, Werewolves, actor!Stiles, actor!derek, actorAU, famous!Stiles, outsider pov, switching POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-17
Updated: 2014-10-17
Packaged: 2018-02-21 12:40:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2468534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeirdV/pseuds/WeirdV
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I don’t know” he sighs, “Nothing can bring back the dead, you taught me that.”</p><p>“I did” Stiles bites his lip, “But I can bring them back from the brink.”</p><p>“Stiles?” his dad looks at him – a hint of fear in his eyes.</p><p>“Thirty days, dad” he says, placing his hand over Derek’s heart, “Give me thirty days to come back.”</p><p>“Stiles, don’t –.”</p><p>“Because I cannot lose the love of my life again, dad” he says, eyes focussing on the unconscious man, “Thirty days. If I’m not back by then - .”</p><p>“Stiles, please.”</p><p>“Then let me go.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thirty days

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't going to write anything else in this verse.  
> Yet, this happened.

_“GET DOWN” he shouts, but he doesn’t get down. They never get down, they always think they know better. And now he’s hurt, and lying there on the floor slowly bleeding out._

_“Derek?” it’s only a whisper as he says the man’s name, “Derek you’re bleeding out. Please, you have to let Scott - .” he turns to his friend, “Please, will you bite him? Save him?”_

_“Derek, do you want me to bite you?” Scott asks slowly, “You need to understand, that the bite might not take. It might kill you._

_Derek snorts, “Well, since I’m dying anyway. I’m willing to take the risk.”_

_~~~_

“What happened?” the sheriff asks when Stiles comes by to pick up his daughter, “I thought it was a simple omega gone mad.”

“We didn’t – he had a witch girlfriend” Stiles says, swallowing, “Derek’s in the hospital. He insisted on coming with us. I didn’t think there’d be any trouble – there wasn’t – he wasn’t supposed to get hurt.”

“Is he badly hurt?” the sheriff frowns as Stiles follows him into the living room.

“Yes” he looks into the crib to find his daughter soundly asleep, “Scott bit him. The bite took, but – he’s not waking up.”

“What do you mean?” his father turns, handing him a glass of water as Stiles sits down on the couch.

“The witch – she hit him with a spell” he explains, “A powerful one.”

 

\----

Three days. That’s how long he’s been asleep. Stiles prefers the term _asleep_ , instead of _comatose._ The doctors are hopeful, because he’s already healed from his injuries, but they can’t feel the spell drain his energy. They can’t see his cheeks sink, and his eyes stop fluttering behind his eyelids. They can’t hear his breathing slow down.

“Thirty days” Stiles says, turning to his father standing in the door. His daughter – already four years old – is staying with Scott and Kira.

“Stiles?”

“When I lost Malia, I didn’t know how I would go on. Raising a kid on my own” he smiles sadly, “And I finally understood how you did it without mom. How you kept going. Because you have to keep going, you can’t stop and stand still.”

“You did great, you _are doing_ great, son” his father walks in, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“If you could bring mom back, would you?” he asks, turning to look at his father.

“I don’t know” he sighs, “Nothing can bring back the dead, you taught me that.”

“I did” he bites his lip, “But I can bring them back from the brink.”

“Stiles?” his dad looks at him – a hint of fear in his eyes.

“Thirty days, dad” he says, placing his hand over Derek’s heart, “Give me thirty days to come back.”

“Stiles, don’t –.”

“Because I cannot lose the love of my life again, dad” he says, eyes focussing on the unconscious man, “Thirty days. If I’m not back by then - .”

“Stiles, _please.”_

“Then let me go.”

-

**Day 4**

_“_ Look Derek, I get it, it’s tough” Lydia says, “But you can’t cancel this interview. He’ll get better, I’m sure he will. But he wouldn’t want you to lock yourself into his room.”

“Lydia, it’s been three days, for fuck’s sake” he grabs his hair in frustration, “We’re talking about the man I love here. Your star, remember?”

“I – I’m sorry” she sighs, “I care about him too, but I can’t fuck this up now, Derek. If I cancel on another interview, well. We need the press. There’s word of cancelling the show.”

“The title character is in a coma, Lydia” he says, “There might not be a choice. Besides, I – I got to take care of Millie.”

“Millie?” Lydia frowns, “His daughter? I – I didn’t know you were so close.”

“Well, we are” he says, “were. Are! We’ve been living together for two years, dating for three. She – Millie hasn’t been -.”

“I thought her name was Malia” Lydia remarks, Derek sighs.

“Nickname, Lydia” he looks at her, trying to blink back his tears. He's angry, and sad, and – so mad at Stiles for doing – this. For leaving him.

“Please, Derek. _Please_ do the interview” she says, her eyes pleading, “It’s early, and it will only be for half an hour. A breakfast show, you like those.”

“Fine” he sighs again, “Let me call the sheriff and ask if he can watch Millie.”

-

“You were in a car crash last weekend, how are you doing?” the woman asks with a concerned frown on her face. Derek would rather be anywhere else but there at the moment.

“Okay, I guess” he shrugs, “Just have to take it slow.”

“Some people claim there’s a curse over the show” the woman says, “First you’re in a car crash, and then Stiles – the star of the show – falls into a coma.”

Derek swallows, he’d really hoped they wouldn’t talk about it.

“Yeah, I really hope we’re not cursed” he tries to say it as a joke, but it comes out strained and painful. He doesn’t know much about magic, not like Stiles. He’s learning more about werewolves from Scott – now that he is one – and magic, well – that’s Stiles’ division.

 _“Magic is your division”_ Derek said with an eyeroll, Stiles had just snorted in response.

“ _Not your division, I get it, Lestrade”_ he had replied, emphasis on the name.

“How are you dealing with it?” she asks, “You and Stiles are close friends, from what I understand.”

“We’ve known each other for almost five years now” he says, “It’s hard – very much so.”

“Well, I hope he gets well soon” the woman smiles. Stiles ‘s private life is very private. Nobody outside the cast and crew know he has a daughter, that his fiancé was killed, that he still works as a PI, that he and Derek are dating. And whenever he leaves, he casts a simple spell to keep people from following him. Or he casts a simple confusion spell, so that people don’t recognize him from TV, just think he looks a bit familiar.

“ _Little spells are easy”_ Stiles once told him, “ _The big ones, they’re something else. This one time I put wards around a place because it was cursed, and it drained me. I was out for two days.”_

“Besides all the drama, the show is still going strong as ever” the woman smiles warmly, and Derek reprimands himself to refocus on the questions, “What do you think makes it so popular?”

“I think it’s because it’s a story we all know” he smiles, “The falling in love, the doubt, the figuring out how to live with someone. But besides that, the story also moves forward. It’s recognizable because of the relationship angle, but entertaining because of the magic. Imagine being with a witch. I believe there’d have to be unconditional trust, if there isn’t - . Well, there would always be that nagging doubt in the back of your head saying ‘ _is this real?’._ I think that’s very interesting.”

“It seems you’ve thought a lot about it” she smiles, “Do you believe in the supernatural?”

“I didn’t before” he says, “But the further we get in the show, the more I’m starting too. Fans sometimes write me letters, about how they’re met a ghost – especially after the séance episode –and their experiences. Some of them are very interesting, and I can’t help but think - . They can’t all be crazy, right?”

“I won’t hold it against you” she smiles, “I once saw a werewolf when I was just a kid. Of course everyone thought I was crazy. But it had these red glowing eyes, and pointy ears, and no eyebrows.”

Derek snorts – thinking about the first time he’d seen Scott in his werewolf shape, “And why would you hallucinate a werewolf without eyebrows, right?” he responds. He’d shifted for the first time last night – luckily the full moon was far away – and apparently his eyebrows disappeared as well. He didn’t know how to feel about that.

“Exactly” she smiles, “From what I’ve heard, Stiles is very into the wiccan and occult of the show.”

“Not so much” he shrugs, “He’s addicted to knowledge. He likes to research things that are going to be on the show, I swear he’s got ninety percent of Wikipedia memorized. Of course it doesn’t hurt that he’s fluent in Latin.”

“Seriously? He speaks Latin?” the woman’s eyes widen in surprise, “I had no idea he was so smart.”

“He’s a near genius” he says, “Majored in criminology, has minors in political science, mythology and Latin. So, yeah. He also loves werewolf stories – from what I’ve seen.”

“Well, let’s hope he’ll be back on his feet soon.”

“Yeah” he says, thoughts already drifting off, “Let’s hope -.”

 

**Day 6**

“I just don’t get why he did it” Derek says, looking at Stiles’ unconscious body. The tubes and the machines and the beeping make him look so – empty.

“I do” Scott says sadly, “You didn’t see him after Malia – died.”

“Then – explain?” Derek looks up at his alpha – and wasn’t that a weird thing to think, let alone say – trying to blink away his tears.

“Losing Malia – it tore him apart” Scott says, “having Millie was the only thing that kept him going. He just went through life. Going through the motion, as they’d say. He buried himself in his work, tracking down every evil son of a bitch he could find. And at night he’d lock himself in, looking after his kid. The only time he looked alive was when he was with her. It took us months to convince him to get out there, and Erica sent that tape and he got the part” Scott pauses for a second, taking a deep breath, “It was like watching him come to life again. He mentioned you, thought he was being subtle – he wasn’t. He started enjoying things again. You made him enjoy things again. Simple things, like a nice meal, or a sunny day.”

“I still don’t get why” Derek shakes his head, “I mean – he loves Millie. Why would he leave her.”

“Because, deep down, a part of Stiles still believes he’s responsible for Malia’s death” Scott says sadly as he looks down at his friend, “Kate came to get revenge on him, Malia was the victim. You being hurt – he blamed himself. He blamed himself for Malia dying, and he blamed himself for you getting hurt. And because of that – he thought Millie would be better off without him. Better without the man that gets everyone she loves killed.”

“How do you know that?” Derek frowns at the man, his presence is oddly comforting – must be a werewolf thing.

“He told me” he says, “Maybe not in those exact words, and with a lot more shouting. But, he was working on it. Going to therapy and all that. He was making progress, but then you got hurt and - .”

“I never should’ve come with you guys” Derek says, “It’s all my fault.”

“If there’s one thing I believe in, it’s fate” Scott says, “Stiles is a Spark. I’m a werewolf, my wife is a kitsune. We all found each other, and then you – a missing piece to Malia’s history. Stiles believes it too. You were meant to be there, so, don’t blame yourself, Derek.”

“You think he’ll wake up?” he looks back to Stiles, glancing at the calendar on the wall on which six days are crossed off.

“Yeah” Scott smiles, “He’s strong. He’ll survive. He’s survived worse.”

_Lie_

_

**Day 8**

Stiles Stilinski is the most popular patient in the hospital. There’s always someone there, mostly a man with dark hair and light eyes. There’s a man in a sheriff’s uniform that visits every night after his shift. A woman – who’s a nurse in the hospital – always visits him during her break. There’s a redhead, she drops by every two days. There’s a very pregnant blonde woman with her husband – who looks scary but treats everyone like porcelain – who visits every single morning. And there’s the friend – Scott – who is there every afternoon, three hours straight. A man with curly hair visits right after. And after the sheriff leaves Scott comes by again with his wife.

There’s also a kid, no older than five. And that is probably the saddest of the whole situation. The kid is adorable, dark hair and bright eyes – like the man who visits him most. And she visits often, often accompanied by a different adult.

“Look” the girl runs up to the nurse, holding out a drawing, “I made this for daddy.”

“It’s beautiful” she smiles back, “I’m sure he’ll love it. Who’s on it?”

“This is mommy, she’s protecting daddy as he sleeps” she says, pointing at a yellow blob in the corner – presumably a sun, maybe a full moon - , “And this is Dada Derek. He watched daddy from beside the bed.”

She points to a stick figure with blue eyes and black scribbles, “This is grandpa” she says, “He’s the sheriff, he makes sure the bad guys don’t hurt daddy while he sleeps.”

“That’s a very important job” she smiles, “And who is that?”

“That’s you” she smiles at the woman, “Because you look over my daddy and make sure he gets enough food. So that he’s not hungry when he wakes up.”

“That’s right” she nods, “I mean, if we didn’t give him food his stomach would growl and wake all the tired people here.”

The girl giggles, “Daddy will wake up soon” she nods, “Last time, he slept three days. But that wasn’t as big as this. He just needs a bit more time. That’s what uncle Scott told me.”

“I’m sure he’s right” she replies and the girl studies her drawing again as one of the adults – the nurse, this time – walks into the hallway.

“Millie! What did I tell you about running off?” she says, she sounds strict but kind – and a bit exasperated.

“Sorry” she says, “I wanted to show my drawing to nurse Ella. She’s really nice to daddy.”

“She is” the nurse says, “Hello, Ella.”

“Hi, Melissa” she smiles back at the woman – she has her nametag from the hospital on her chest -, “I just gave him a new IV, so he’ll be fine for another five hours.”

“Thanks” she smiles, turning back to the little girl, “Come on, Millie. Let’s go visit your dad.”

The girl already runs off and Melissa follows as a doctor walks up to Ella.

“Stiles” the man says, looking at his chart, “Thought he looked familiar. He’s the sheriff’s kid.”

“Yeah” she replies, “Nice kid. Helped me out a while back.”

“My wife loves his show” the man says seriously, “I hope he gets better, but it’d take a miracle for that to happen.”

The nurse smiles, her eyes flashing bright yellow for a second, “Well if anyone’s entitled to a miracle – it’s him.”

_

**Day 9**

“Scott, he’ll wake up” Kira says, leaning against him, “I promise.”

They’d gotten married six months after meeting, three months after Kira’s powers emanated during a freak electrical storm. Luckily, she’d been on a date with Scott at the moment, who calmed her down. After visiting her parents afterwards, the whole story got told and she had found out about herself. A wolf and a fox, love at first sight.

“ _I really thought you’d go for Allison”_ Stiles had commented with a snort, “ _The hunter’s daughter and the young Alpha. Seemed like a modern Romeo and Juliet waiting to happen.”_

“I know” he sighs, “I know he’ll wake up. He’s strong, he’s got his talisman. You know – Malia’s engagement ring.”

“I still don’t understand how that protects him” Kira says, Scott smiles at her.

“It’s an object of true love” he says, “I know he loves Derek now, but part of him will always Love Malia too. The thing is, the ring represents Malia’s love for him, so it carries part of her strength. It involved some spell they did when they got engaged. It protects him, it’s like – how did he say it? – like a light to guide him back to what’s important.”

“That’s oddly romantic” Kira smiles, looking at her wedding ring, “Is it the same spell that he performed on our rings?”

“Yeah” Scott smiles at his wife, “If anyone can come back from this, it’s him. He just needs to recharge.”

 

 

\--

**Day 12**

“The video of Derek Hale and an unknown little girl – around four – was leaked earlier today” the woman says, turning to the screen behind her.

_“You have fun with uncle Scott?” Derek asks Millie, she nods and smiles widely._

_“Yes” she exclaims, “We had icecream, and auntie Kira promised to teach me the nun-chucks. And then we went running in the woods with everyone.”_

_“That sounds like a lot of fun” he smiles, “Let’s go see your daddy, okay?”_

_“Yes” she nods again, “I made him a drawing, you think he’ll like it?”_

_“He’ll love it, Mills” he smiles, “Now, can I have a hug before we go?”_

_The little girl smiles as Derek kneels down and she throws her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly._

_“I love you, wolf” he says quietly._

_“I love you, grumpypants” she replies, placing a wet kiss on his cheek before he takes her little hand and they leave._

“She looks like him” the male presenter says, “But – and call me crazy – she looks like Stiles too. I mean, the nose, the moles...”

“Yeah, I see that too” the woman agrees, “It’s possible, we don’t know anything about Stiles’ private life. Not even his last name. Let’s ask the fans.”

“Hi, Who are we speaking with and what do you think about this?” the man says after the sound of a click.

“Hi, I’m Lizzie. Huge fan” a girl’s voice sounds, “Honestly? I don’t care what’s going on. I just hope Stiles gets well soon. I met him a few years back and he was the nicest guy ever, helped me out with something. And for the kid? I think she looks happy, probably a cousin or niece of Derek.”

“That seems unlikely” the man frowns, “His whole family died in a fire when he was young – the case is solved but it’s classified information.”

“From what I’ve read it was solved by a PI” the woman comments, “I guess it doesn’t matter as long as there’s justice.”

 

**Day 13**

Sitting by his bed was painful, but it was less painful than sitting at home – in their empty flat. He missed the man’s voice, his stories. He remembered finding out just how much their lives had intertwined before they had even met.

 _“Peter Hale survived the fire because he was a bitten wolf. He killed a passing alpha to gain more power, and then bit Scott. Kate killed Peter before I caught her. It was a little over a year later that Scott became a true Alpha and turned Erica, Isaac and Boyd – with their consent_ ” Stiles told him a few months after they started dating,   _“A year after that I met Malia – I found out who she was half a year later. We fell in love, went to college together – Malia dropped out half a year into it and started working. We got engaged when I graduated and then we had Millie – birthname Malia Claudia Tate Stilinksi. A month later Kate Argent escaped and killed Malia.”_

He’d always thought Peter had set the fire, that was what the police told him. But then again, the police also told him his uncle had died in the fire. Then his sister got killed – along with some other people – and his uncle showed up on a security camera. And then Kate Argent killed him – taking down all the Hales – all but Derek. _“What happened to her? Kate Argent”_ Derek had asked, Stiles face was stone cold when he answered his question.

_“I shot her in the head.”_

 “ _I never connected it to you”_ Stiles told him after sharing his story, “ _the fire, that is. I never realised that it was_ your _family. I’d seen you on TV, but I just didn’t connect the dots.”_

If anything – it only made Derek love the man more.

**Day 15**

“ _A witch”_ Stiles had shouted throught he phone, “ _They’re fucking idiots, Scott. Witches needs spells, and herbs and incantations and sigils and crap. Sparks don’t. This character uses intuitive magic, like me. So it’s a Spark, not a fucking witch.”_

If there’s one thing Scott knows his friend hates, it’s inaccuracies on TV-shows.

He leaned against the doorframe and looked at the redhead sitting by his friend’s bed. He knew her – Lydia Martin – but not that well. She was at his wedding, being a friend of Kira and Derek. But besides that, they didn’t really have anything in common. From what he knew, her banshee powers were still dorment. And he wasn’t going to drag her into their messy life if he could avoid it.

The woman looks up at him, “Scott, right?” she says, he nods and she smiles weakly, “The – the calendar. Is that -.”

“He asked for thirty days to find his way back” he explains, walking into the room and sitting down on the other side of the bed, “He’s still got time.”

“He – when I gave him the role” she pauses and bites her lip nervously, “I like him. He talks too much, and he’s annoying as fuck. But – I like him. He makes Derek happy, and he makes Kira laugh and Allison. They have a strange relationship, but they get along.”

“Yeah – the relationship with Allison will always be difficult” Scott says, Lydia frowns, “You don’t know.”

“Don’t know what?” Lydia asks confused, Scott sighs.

“Kate – Allison’t aunt – killed Stiles’ fiancé. She was also responsible for burning down the Hale mansion and killing Derek’s family.”

Lydia looks at him, eyes wide, “How – how do” she shakes her head and looks at Stiles again, “How does he manage to work with her at all?”

“He knows Allison is not her aunt” Scott shrugs, “Not her grandfather either, that man was even more fucked up.”

“Huh” Lydia sighs and hesitantly places her hand on Stiles’ , “He’s strong. He can come back from this. Needs to. Who else is going to harrass the writers because their scripts are full of mistakes.”

“I know it’s maddening” Scott snorts, “He called me to complain about it after he just got the script.”

His phone dinged and he pulled it out, “Shit” he muttered, getting up.

“Everything okay?” Lydia asks, Scott looks at her for a second and smiles weakly.

“Yeah, just Kira. Got an emergency, need someone to look after Millie” he says, Lydia looks sadder.

“I – I keep forgetting he has a kid” she says, a guilty undertone in her voice, “I haven’t been a good friend to him, or Derek. I didn’t even know they were that close. I mean – I knew they have a thing -.”

“Derek was going to propose” Scott says, “Millie calls her dada. You’re always welcome to visit, you know. I know Derek would like that. And Stiles – the more the merrier, is his motto.”

“That does sound like him” she snorts, “Well, say hi to Kira from me. And Millie.”

“I will, Lydia” he smiles, hovering in the doorway for a second, “Halfway. He’ll wake up soon.”

He says it as an afterthought, more to himself than to Lydia, as he leaves. Because the bad guys didn’t take their situation into consideration when commiting crimes.

**Day 16**

“Can you shut up, please” Derek heard himself say it – and he couldn’t even care about what everyone else thought.

“What?”

“My – Stiles is in the hospital” he says, “Holding on, fighting his way back to us, and you’re just. How are you still -.”

The words die in his throat, because he can feel it happening. He knows what’s happening, he’s had to coach Stiles through a few. But he was on live TV now, and he could not afford to have a panic attack. Did werewolves even have fucking panic attacks? It seems so.

“Derek, are you okay?” the voice of the woman sounds distant, but he’s not okay. Of course he’s not okay. The love of his life is in a hospital, fighting for his life, and he’s here. Why the fuck is he here? He should be with Stiles, with Millie, with his _pack._

“He’s having a panic attack” someone says, he’s vaguely aware of someone walking up to him and his phone ringing.

He’s on live TV, and it wouldn’t surprise him if they were still filming. This was – after all – a wonderful story. Actor Derek Hale breaks down over comatose co-star on live TV. Ratings must be through the roof.

Someone picks up his phone and puts it on speaker. He’s greeted with Scott’s voice.

“Derek, breathe” he says, and he’s not sure if it’s the familiarity of the voice, or the alpha tone, but it helps him.

“You got this” Scott says, “He’ll come back. Plenty of time, you know that.”

It helps, but he’s still struggling. Someone moves over to him.

“Don’t fucking touch him” Scott’s voice almost screams through the phone, “Derek. Everything will be fine. He’ll come back to us – he always does.”

He breathes, in and out, slowly.

“I’m almost there” Scott says, there’s voices in the background and five minutes later he’s there. Kira right behind him, both walking up to him.

“Panic attack, Derek” Kira shakes her head, “I thought that was Stiles’ thing.”

Derek snorts in response and he feels his heartrate slow, his breathing steady.

“Shut up” he mutters, no real hate behind the words       as Scott helps him up.

“Who are you?” the woman asks accusingly as she eyes Scott.

“I’m a friend” he says, the eternal nice guy trying to steady Derek.

“He’s also my gorgeous husband” Kira smiles, they’d been married for almost three years now.

“You’re _married?”_ the woman asks surprised, looking at the couple, “Since when?”

“Almost three years” Derek says, rolling his eyes, “Can we get out of here, please.”

“Yeah” Scott smiles, “Full moon is coming up.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” the woman – who clearly doesn’t know when to shut the fuck up – asks.

“Nothing” Kira snaps at her, “Everything. What the fuck does it matter? We got to go, okay? Erica just went into labor.”

 

**Day 17**

“You fucking idiot” Erica says as she sits down next to the bed, “You were gonna be here for the baby, remember?”

There’s no response.

“Typical. Have to be comatose to shut you up” she rolls her eyes, “Got to wake up, though. I need you to meet my baby. Her name is Heather, by the way. You mentioned your friend Heather a few times, and I sort of liked the name.”

“We both did” Boyd comments, leaning against the door as he closes it behind him, “I knew I’d find you here. For a second I thought you ran off with our baby.”

“ _Hell_ _no_ , I need you for diaper duty” she smiles, kissing her daughters forehead, “I need Stiles, too, though.”

“I know” he sighs, “I miss him.”

“He’s just always been there, you know” Erica says, “Even when I didn’t want him to be there. The batman to my catwoman.”

“He’ll come back” he says with a smile, “He’s not gone yet.”

“And he’ll never be gone” Erica says, “At least not yet. He’s too fucking stubborn. He cares too much about people to leave them behind.”

“A lot of heart, that one” Boyd says, and if Erica didn’t know any better, she’d say he sounded proud.

**Day 19**

“Eleven days, son” the sheriff looks at his kid – all grown up but still so young.

No response, “You know, for someone very concerned with my health, you give me a lot of heartache” he sighs, taking his son’s hand between his own two hands.

“I need you to come back to me, kid” he says, “Millie needs you. And Derek. I swear, when you first brought him home – well, I almost had a heart attack.”

There are some footsteps in the hallway, but today he’s all alone in Stiles’ room.

“But this man – god, how he loves you” the sheriff sighs, “after Malia. I know you love her. But I was so scared that when you lost her – I lost you. And then you tell me about _Derek_ _Hale_. You know I don’t care as long as you’re happy, but I must admit – seeing you with a guy took a bit getting used to. But he loves you, and he loves Millie. He’s working so hard on being in control of his wolfpowers for when you wake up. He brings me a healthy lunch at work, son. And I need you. I miss you. Millie – she’s the eternal optimist. But you need to come back to us. Please, Stiles. Don’t make me explain to your kid that her dad’s not coming home.”

“Sheriff?” Melissa walks in, wearing her uniform and nametag and carrying two lunches, “I thought you’d be here. The doctor told me he saw you.”

“Hi Melissa” he smiles as the woman takes place next to him, “Thanks” he says as she hands him a sandwich.

“Do you – do you remember when Scott and Stiles were eight, and had that superman phase?” she asks, the sheriff snorts and gives a slight nod.

“Scott insisted on wearing his cape to school for two weeks” the sheriff remembers, “And Stiles was _so_ jealous.”

“And then Claudia got ill” Melissa says, “And he just took off his cape and gave it to Stiles. Because he was the real superman to Scott.”

“Stiles is the strongest person I know” the sheriff says, “He did so well after losing Malia – so much better than I did.”

Melissa smiles and takes the man’s hand in her own, “You shouldn’t be on your own” she says, “Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight?”

“I don’t want to –“ he starts, but Melissa interrupts him before he can finish.

“Bullshit” she says, he looks at her, eyes wide in surprise, “Just come over. I know it’s not the best time, but we’ve been dancing around this for years. And – well – I’m sort of done with it.”

He stares at her, not sure how to respond.

“And – in the life our kids are leading at the moment” she continues, “There’ll probably never be a good time.”

He smiles tentatively at her, “You’re probably right” he says after a while, “Dinner would be nice.”

“I thought so” she muses, checking her watch, “And my break is over. See you tonight, sheriff. Stiles.”

“ _When are you and Melissa finally getting together?”_ Stiles had said a few weeks ago, “ _What’s it going to take? Do you have to be the last two people on earth before you get your head out off your ass? Or does someone need to die before you guys act on it? Seriously, you’re worse than Kira and Scott.”_

 _“Nobody’s worse than Kira and Scott, son”_ he had responded, Stiles snorted.

“ _Yeah, can’t argue there. You and Melissa, though. A very close second.”_

**Day 20**

“I started writing a book” Isaac says as he sits down next to Stiles, “I thought about what you said. If I keep putting it off, it might never happen. So I started writing it.”

No response.

“Your daugther is my inspiration” he says, “It’s a children’s book. About a little girl that wants to be a wolf and run into the woods. She escapes into a fantasy world and plays with animals. I think the drawing are coming out pretty well, too.”

He gazes at the tube in his friend’s throat, the smell of medicine and illness in the air make him queasy.

“There’s this girl” he says, “Well – you know her. That’s why I haven’t told you yet. We met at Scott’s wedding. Allison, I guess your Romeo and Juliet story has some truth to it.”

The nurse walks in and checks his tubes, changing his IV and giving Isaac an empathic look before leaving again.

“She – she knows about her family history” he says, “Trained in archery, she knows about wolves and magic and – well, everything. Her mom was bitten by an alpha and killed herself before the first full moon. That’s when she walked away, when she found out the truth about how her mom was bitten. She said that hunting someone who doesn’t hurt anyone is wrong. It’s just her and her dad now. They know about me being a wolf. I told them about why I wanted the bite, and they were so nice. They don’t know about anyone else of the pack. Not even you. I – I think I love her.”

The only thing interrupting the silence is the beeping.

“I could really use your advice right now” he says, “Her friend Lydia scares me. She’s even scarier than you said.”

“ _Lydia’s a banshee”_ Stiles said during the first pack get together after getting the role on the TV-show, “ _dorment, though. She doesn’t know yet. But man, she’s fucking terrifying. I swear, she thrives on worship and admiration”_  he’s gotten some weird dreamy look in his eyes, “ _She’s amazing, though. In another lifetime, I would be worshipping her with the rest of the masses.”_

**Day 22**

“How is he?” Lucy asks as the sheriff drops Millie off at daycare. She had met Stiles a few years ago. He’d shown up in a panic holding his daughter.

“ _I know, I know”_ he’d said, “ _there are wait lists, and all that shazam. But I got a role in a TV-show. The lead, if you can believe it. And I moved here two days ago. I have to go in to read the script and – I need you to bend the rules for me.”_

He’d looked close to freaking out, a stain on his shirt, a diaperbag over his shoulder and the little girl in his arms.

“ _I can play the pity card? Her mom is gone”_ he sounded genuinely broken when he said it, “ _And if you do this for me, I’ll owe you big. I’ll pay you double and – please.”_

The man had placed his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to convene his distress and then he’d grinned.

“ _A witch”_ he’d said, and she’d been shocked, “ _Now I need you to take my kid. I’m a Spark. She’s a werecoyote.”_

And Lucy had caved, smiling warmly at him and giving a slight nod.

“ _You won’t regret this”_ he’s said as she took his daughter and gestured for him to follow to get the paperwork in order, “ _I can get you mad witching supplies.”_

Lucy had fallen a little bit in love with him right then and there.

“Derek is picking her up this afternoon” the sheriff said, Lucy nods. She’d met Derek a little over a year ago, when he and Stiles had come over to pick up Millie. She’d seen it coming, Millie kept talking about Derek this, and Derek that. “And Stiles – well, still no change.”

“I’m sorry” she says, “I’m sure he’ll get better soon. If anyone can come back from this, it’s him.”

“Everyone keeps saying that” the sheriff smiles as he kisses his granddaughter goodbye, “And – since I’m an idiot – I believe them when they say it.”

“You’re not an idiot, sir” Lucy says as Millie runs inside towards the toys, “Anything but.”

**Day 23**

“How the fuck did you do it, Stiles” Boyd says as he plumps down on the empty chair, “I mean – I got Erica and I feel like I’m drowning. She cries – Heather, I mean – she cries so much. And she barely sleeps. I don’t know what -.”

No response.

“How did you do it on your own, Stiles” he says, burying his face in his hands, “Millie, is amazing. And Heather, she’s beautiful, you know? Got Erica’s crazy blonde curls. And there’s two of us, and we’re drowning. And you did it all on your own. I don’t know how.”

There’s a knock on the door and Erica walks in, pushing Heather’s stroller.

“Hi, babe” she smiles, “Telling him about all our crappy parenting.”

“ _You’ll be a great mom, Erica”_ Stiles had told her when she told him about the pregnancy, “ _Millie adores you, and if Millie adores you, well. I know you’ll be great!”_

“He always had such faith in us as parents” Boyd says, “I mean – he’s a lot easier to talk to when he can’t respond, isn’t he?”

Erica snorts and Heather coughs a little, “Yeah” she says, “This way he’s not the one doing the monologue.”

“Remember when we fought those two alpha’s?” Boyd says, “When he drained their powers, because they didn’t really want to be Alpha’s?”

“He was out for two whole days” Erica said, “before that, I never really understood how draining his powers were.”

“He must really love this guy” Boyd says, “Honestly, I like him. Derek, I mean.”

“I do too” Erica says, “I mean, when Laura told me about her brother, I never realised it was him when we met him the first time.”

“God – I haven’t thought about Laura in years” Boyd says, “Didn’t she use to babysit Stiles?”

“No, she had a part time job delivering for that healthy meal place” Boyd says, “Stiles often ordered there for his dad after his mom passed.”

“And then the fire happened” Erica sighs, “I remember how my parents were that day. I remember not knowing how to feel. Laura was – I liked Laura. She was my math tutor for three weeks.”

“Stiles never even recognized her when he found the body” Boyd says, “He told me that later” he glances at his friend, “One more week.”

**Day 25**

“Five days” Allison says, glancing at the calendar, “Cutting it pretty close there, Stiles.”

No response.

“I know we don’t really get along” she says, “And I know why. But – I’m sort of falling in love with Isaac. And he’s your friend. I love how he gets so passionate about things, you know? His eyes light up – and I don’t mean the werewolf sense – but there’s this little sparkle behind them.”

There’s a knock on the door and Isaac comes in, “Hi, sweetie” he says, walking over and giving her a kiss, “Ready to go?”

“Yeah” she smiles, “I can’t help but think. If he was a werewolf, he’d be okay by now.”

“Stiles is strong, Ally” he says, and he sounds confident about it, “five days is plenty.”

**Day 26**

“Stiles is still in a coma” the woman on the screen says, “according to our sources, he asked for thirty days. It’s day twenty-six.”

A picture of him appears on the screen behind her, “According to our specialist doctors, the hope of recovery is small, to non-existant. Today we are joined by his colleagues and friends, Kira Yukimura and Allison Argent.”

“Hi” Kira smiles to the woman, but her eyes betray her. There’s a sadness behind them and nobody can really blame her for it.

“So, how are you two holding up?” the woman asks, Kira sighs.

“It’s hard” she says, “I see him everyday. I’m married to his best friend, and it’s – it’s hard.”

“Do the doctors know what happened yet? Why he fell into a coma?” she asks, Allison shakes her head. She’s not up to speed with the magic of it all.

“They assume it’s emotional” Allison explains, “Some sort of protective mechanism.”

“Emotional?” the woman frowns in confusion. Nobody knows about Stiles and Derek, about Stiles losing Malia and not being able to lose someone else he loves.

“I’d rather not discuss it” Kira says, “It’s personal. I know he’s very protective of his private life. And I know why that is, so I’m going to respect that.”

“How’s the rest of the cast and crew doing?” she asks, Allison smiles.

“They’re all so nice. Every single cast and crew member has gone to visit him at least once" she says, "He gets under people's skin."

**Day 27**

“Three days” the doctor looks at the chart, glancing at the man lying in the bed, “A lot of people are depending on you, kid.”

He’s used to it. Watching the friends and family slowly use hope. But this kid’s family, they’re different. They have complete faith in his recovery. He’d talked to the dad and boyfriend last night, telling them that the possibility of him getting better was – small. He knows that after a moment, giving the family hope is cruel. Honesty, he finds, might be cruel, but kinder in the long term. He’d seen it when Ben’s parents – Ben was a five year old kid that got comatose after a car crash – slowly withered away visiting their son for six years before letting him go. He’d seen Annabella watch her fiancé slip away, holding on to empty things. Misinterpreting movements and spasms as consciousness.

Watching Stiles’ family hold on so tightly broke his heart.

“How about this” he says, checking his reflexes, “You give me a miracle. Just this once, what do you think?”

No response.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

**Day 28**

There’s nobody there, and that surprised Ella when she walks into the room.

“Good morning, Stiles” she says – the habit of talking to sleeping patients is something she’d rather not discuss - , “Let’s change your IV, huh.”

He doesn’t respond, and she glances at the calendar. Day 28.

Everyone knew what that meant. According to his file, he doesn’t want to be kept on life support longer than 30 days. They’d kept his location quiet for three weeks, but since the beginning of the week fans had showed up outside. Burning candles, and praying. Ella would join them if she was a religious person – but she really isn’t.

She knows that there are fellow Sparks out there, sending him their energy. There are werewolves, she can smell them when she leaves after her shift – burning candles for the man. There are banshees, and fearies, and – every magical creature you couldn’t imagine to be real.

Because Stiles Stilinski is – well, something else.

“There’s a lot of people waiting for you to wake up, you know” she tells him as she adjust his pillow, “That handsome man of yours. Your beautiful girl.”

Silence, “I never got to thank you properly for what you did for me” she says, “Finding me a pack, saving me from – well, myself. The world’s not ready to do without you yet, Stiles.”

She sighs, turning around to leave, “Don’t think it ever will be” she mutters to herself, and then her heart stops.

There’s a loud gasp behind her, and when she turns around he’s sitting straight up, eyes wide open and glowing purple. Coughing loudly because of the tube in his throat. She rushes over, a doctor right behind her as she calls him from the hallway and they remove the tube from his airway.

“Holy mother of fuck” he says, taking in a deep breath, “How many days.”

“Twenty eight” Ella replies, she can hear the footsteps approach in the hallway as she walks up to the man to check him over.

“Wow, cutting it close” he says, a smile on his face, “Oh, hey, Ella. Guess there was an emergency, huh? Can you hand me my phone?”

~~~

Derek really hates Lydia right now. Because there are only two days left, and he’s stuck on another fucking talk-show. Because having a panic attack of live TV wasn’t enough torture.

“How’ve you been?” the man – Derek can’t even be bothered to learn his name, let’s call him blue tie – asks.

“Crappy” he says, “My friend is still in a coma, what do you think?”

“I can’t blame you for –“ he’s interrupted by Derek’s phone and he pulls it out. When the love of your life is on life support, you don’t turn off your phone.

He glances at the screen and sees Stiles’ name, and breathing gets hard. He picks up, a bit uncertain, and brings the phone to his ear.

“H –hello” he says slowly, there’s a loud gasp on the other side of the line and an exhale.

“Derek” he says, “Guess who’s back in the land of the living. Come kiss me, okay? Bring Millie.”

“Stiles?” he says hesitantly, and the blue tie’s eyes widen in surprise.

“You know any other guys that just woke up from a coma?” he asks jokingly, “You’d better not be kissing them. Those lips are all mine.”

Derek snorts, “So you wake up from a coma, and that’s the first thing you think off?” he asks, “How are you?”

“Great” he replies, “Batteries are recharged, ready to kick some ass. Now come over and bring me my daughter.”

“Millie is with your dad” he says, “I’m in the middle of a live interview. I’ll be there is fifteen minutes.”

He hangs up the phone and looks at blue tie, “I hope you understand. But he – he woke up.”

“Stiles?” the man asks, and Derek nods, pocketing his phone and standing up, “and he’s – okay?”

“Of course he is” Derek says, “I’m going to go visit him now. Lydia is here somewhere, maybe she can take over.”

As if she heard him Lydia walks onto the set, “I got your back, Der. You go see him” she smiles and kisses his cheek, “Give him my love.”

“Will do.”

~~~

“You’re awake” Derek says, wasting no time in walking over to him and giving him a chaste kiss on the lips.

“I told you to give me thirty days, didn’t I” he says, and the words feel ice cold on Derek’s skin.

“What if you hadn’t woken up?” Derek doesn’t know how he sounds, but he feels mad and heartbroken and fractured at just the thought of it.

“Then I would’ve been hoping you could forgive me” he says, “You and Millie, and everyone.”

“It was a stupid thing to do” Derek says, “I would’ve been fine.”

“You wouldn’t have” Stiles says, “I know my magic, okay! The spell – it was strong. It was draining you.”

“And you decided it should be draining you?” Derek asks, Stiles smiles.

“I had some extra” he says, “Took away two alpha’s power a few years back, had been meaning to use that up.”

“You took a gamble.”

“Maybe” he says, “Now – the doctor is clearing me in a few hours. Can someone please get me some clothes?”

“I’ll go get some” Kira offers, there’s a knock on the door, “Oh, and there’s someone else to see you.”

Erica walks in, Boyd right behind her and Stiles curses.

“I missed it?” he says disappointed, “I’m sorry, Erica. I should’ve been there for you and – fuck, you guys look tired.”

“She barely sleeps” Boyd admits, “Her name’s Heather, by the way.”

“She’s beautiful, can I hold her?” he asks, the little girl is crying in her mother’s arms and Erica smiles as she gives the baby to her friend. It goes quiet immediately.

“Oh” he smiles, “I see, she’s cold.”

“Cold?” Boyd raises an eyebrow at him, “How do you even know that?”

“Magic” he says, then snorts, “No, her feet are freezing. Her wolf powers haven’t kicked in yet, so her bodytemperature is still – well, regular.”

“Oh” Erica lets out a relieved sigh, “Is she a wolf, though? Can you tell?”

“She is” he says, “Takes after her mom and dad. Don’t you little Heather?”

The baby coughs again and then she falls asleep, “She’s perfect, Erica. And Boyd, she got your eyes.”

“She already likes you” Erica comments, and Stiles smiles.

“What’s not to like.”

“Can’t argue there” Derek mutters, leaning in for another kiss as the doctor walks in.

“Your vitals are great, your tests are great – it’s a miracle” the man says, looking at his chart, “I’m releasing you, but you’ll need to come in next week, and preferably not venture anywhere on your own in case there’s some – well – kickback.”

“Got it, doc” Stiles salutes the man as he walks away to sign the release papers, “Now, let’s get out of this hellhole.”

 

**Day 30**

“You were in a coma for twenty eight days” the woman says, eyes wide in shock, and Stiles grins.

“Yeah” he shrugs, “Doctors are looking into it, think I’m a small miracle.”

“Almost makes you believe in magic, doesn’t it?” she says, Stiles laughs – and o, how Derek had missed that sound.

“Almost” he says, “Let’s just say, I had plenty of people to come back for.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry if I made you cry - maybe not. I'm actually a terrible person.  
> Comments are very appreciated.  
> I'll reread for typos later (spellcheck is down, so, that sucks) but at the moment I have to finish my lessonplans right now.
> 
> And by right now, I mean I should've had them done yesterday.


End file.
